Change... is a good thing..

Something I saw a couple of days ago told me that the India I grew up has changed forever. The almost Victorian faux morality which existed doesn't any more. It just rears it's ugly head once in a while, when politicians feel like they are getting a little too irrelevant.

And what happened??

There's a bus stop outside Wadia College that, as I write this, has a Durex ad adorning its billboards. It has a girl with a book in one hand and her boyfriend's hand in the other. The tag line says something like "I Live in my Jeans, I Love in my Jeans". It's not that the ad means that there is fundamental change in Indian society. It's just that not a soul has been scandalized yet. Marketing wise, I think it's the best thing to do.. I mean, college kids in India, are probably most in need of a pack of condoms today. I guess many people realize that, and so no one has raised a stink. And this (a condom billboard outside high school) is something I have not seen in the US either.

Don't know why I found it interesting, but I did.

As Dylan said, "Times, they are a-changing"

Desperate Humans - Life in Hysteria Lane.

There’s something which has been bugging me for a long time now. Have not been able exactly understand what and who is causing this irritation, and therefore have not been able to put it down in words to be able to post about. As a result, my posting to this site has reduced greatly, and possibly is another reason why I feel irritated. I am in computer detox, remember? There’s a word in Marathi which is possibly more apt than irritated. Chidchid is what it’s called. However today I have some time to kill so I decided to write whatever comes to my mind and then see what happens.

The main thing that bugs me is that life seems to be going faster than what it used to be 30 years ago. Which is strange, to be honest, for the reasons which go something like this.

 

Life expectancy has grown in society, and I believe statistically I have a good chance of surviving into my 80s. In short, I have more days on this earth than someone 30 years ago. Ever since I have known it a day has 24 hours. No more no less. In short, statistically I should have more time on my hands than someone 30 years ago. (Since I cannot see the future, these are the odds I have to take.)

 

Why then, do I feel like there’s no time to do anything?

 

What happens because of this, is that I do not spend time on details. I take some information (could be anything – newspaper headlines, Grocery lists, Facebook status updates – anything at all),  and because of my self-perceived lack of time, start processing my own conclusions. Thus, anyone with swine flu has minutes to live, and Indian cricketers are drug cheats, and on and on. What doesn’t help is how everything which provides me this information is also catered or customized in such a way that it only provides me the headlines. News channel tickers, Reality TV, Facebook, Orkut, Gmail, Email, SMS, whatever.

 

Everything is WHAT, Nothing is WHY.

 

But human minds need to know the WHY.

 

Without that we are incomplete and insecure.

 

Why do we not spend enough time to understand why something happens? Why do we have to rely on godmen and gurus and swamis and religion to understand the meaning of why something is happening?

 

Once we know the WHY, it has a purpose. And you know what you can, and cannot do, in that situation. You are secure in your knowledge that what you do is for the best, and there’s nothing else you can do.

 

And then, suddenly, magically, life doesn’t go by that fast.

 

And there’s still 24 hrs in your day

A Blasphemous Thought...

It has been a long long time since I wrote anything.. I really don't feel like writing anything.. Not that there aren't any thoughts in my head, but really.. These days work is hard and long and more importantly, time consuming.. So, I really don't feel like writing much.. Until today.. That's because of a line I read in The Economist

...Most religions began as heresies...

Actually, I really don't know any religion which has been around since time immemorial.. If only the orthodox followers of every religion understood this, we'd probably have had much less religious wars...